The Final Launch of Discovery

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Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

12 жыл бұрын

The Space Shuttle Discovery flew every kind of mission a Space Shuttle could fly in it's almost 30 years of service.
Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space. It entered service in 1984 and flew on 39 Earth-orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled almost 150 million miles. This NASA video (with captions added by the Museum) captures its final launch on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station in 2011.
Today you can see the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Plan your visit today: airandspace.si.edu/visit/udva...
Video courtesy of NASA-TV.

Пікірлер: 529

@pk7422 Жыл бұрын

I'm always in awe when i watch this. The shuttle program was and will always be one of the most amazing achievements of humankind!

@thangnguyen-ff3wr Жыл бұрын

@horaciomino1511 Жыл бұрын

Totalmente de acuerdo

@randbarrett8706 Жыл бұрын

Also a massive waste in terms of space exploration. We could have spent way less on space trucking and much more on hardware to reach other celestial bodies.

@ahmedelanouarbouklihacene6629 Жыл бұрын

⁰

@thecyanadon Жыл бұрын

@@randbarrett8706 Eh, it was a needed thing, it was a gateway vessel to the concept of re-use.

@Duncan1974 Жыл бұрын

Watching the main engines come alive at around the 3:40 mark....never gets old....just an amazing feat of human engineering

@thenewspaperbandit Жыл бұрын

It looks oddly satisfying.

@ryans6280 Жыл бұрын

This is one of the most crazy moments in human history. The SOUND the VISUALS. insane

@Minimalici0us Жыл бұрын

@@ryans6280 Facts!

@vipinvipin1711 Жыл бұрын

@@ryans6280 3:19

@hm-wg9ei 8 ай бұрын

I completely agree. one of the most beautiful things to see

@nazimL1011 2 ай бұрын

I could watch this thing 1000 times and it never ever gets old. What a beauty….incredible brains , incredible entreprise.

@Halo-586 Күн бұрын

Same

@johnpolizzio2583 2 жыл бұрын

This never gets old. Amazing orbital aircraft!

@rpwms2009 Жыл бұрын

“Discovery making one last reach for the stars” chills

@petrithysaj4529 10 ай бұрын

same here

@Vector_Ze 3 ай бұрын

Well, maybe Low Earth Orbit, anyway.

@petrithysaj4529 10 ай бұрын

For all the scientists that came before us, for Galilei, Copernicus, Newton. My eyes always fill with tears when I see this video. I am simply amazed at the human brain power behind this.

@leokimvideo 17 күн бұрын

I get chills every time when I hear the call 'you are go at throttle up'. The Shuttle was an amazing piece of reusable space hardware, I witnessed launch 26 and i'll never forget the sound of the Shuttle rapidly rising into the sky.

@Papershields001 Жыл бұрын

There’s just nothing like the shuttle. Just the greatest vehicle a man has ever produced. I feel so blessed to have seen it flying over DC and arriving at Udvar Hazy.

@thecyanadon Жыл бұрын

Not greatest, but definitely the coolest.

@vibratingstring Жыл бұрын

The X-15 and the A-12 were WAY cooler.

@thecyanadon Жыл бұрын

@@vibratingstring mmm arguably.

@Papershields001 Жыл бұрын

@@vibratingstring yeah I worked at the air and space museum where there was an X15 and also at Udvar Hazy where there was an SR71. I can tell you from everyday personal experience seeing them. Both those airplanes are fantastic, but neither of them takes your breath away like Discovery or the Concorde does.

@Papershields001 Жыл бұрын

@@vibratingstring the X15 doesn’t even remotely compare, it’s a pipe with stubby wings and tiny cockpit. Discovery has all her heat blankets all burned up from all the times she flew in space, it’s a whole other league.

@PlushyCascade82 7 ай бұрын

I was standing off to the right side of the mission timer pictured in those shots. I'll never forget watching Discovery launch.

@erice9536 Жыл бұрын

Had the privilege to watch this one in person from the Saturn V center. Most memorable occasion!

@nazimL1011 2 ай бұрын

Here again ….cannot stop watching this over and over …just magnificent ❤❤

@kenpalmer1965 2 ай бұрын

God bless the entire space shuttle crews and personnel who took part in this magnificent program! They made all of America very proud! This is an era of history which will never be forgotten!

@Cruz474 4 жыл бұрын

Discovery was my favorite Shuttle.

@VoodooDangerbird Жыл бұрын

I liked Challenger.

@SaturnRingersonVI Жыл бұрын

@@VoodooDangerbird rip challenger crew

@NOOBSLAYER-cw3gd Жыл бұрын

any particular reason?

@MANOFTIME Жыл бұрын

@@NOOBSLAYER-cw3gd because it failed, duh

@dsdy1205 Жыл бұрын

@user-xl2px8hr2l Challenger was the workhorse of the Shuttle fleet back then. In many ways it was also NASA's favourite. The high flight rates it went through probably meant if any shuttle was going to go first, it would have been Challenger.

@McHeisenburger Ай бұрын

I cannot express how much I miss the shuttles

@Gehren1 3 жыл бұрын

Awsome footage of an historic last flight of the Space Shuttle "Discovery".

@jermainejohnson3465 Жыл бұрын

3:40 is pure beauty… I can’t imagine the temperature there

@aussienick4520 3 жыл бұрын

Decided to pay a visit here after digging an old toy of Discovery from a box of my old stuff.

@user-zb8hz5ti3q 6 ай бұрын

That boom when the main engines start and the secondary boom of the SLB's makes me proud to be a human being.

@netheraziz3886 4 ай бұрын

Yess i love the time of starting engine😢

@scottlyttle5586 Жыл бұрын

The last launch where the weather was beautiful. Endeavour's last launch had a thin cloud cover come in about 30 minutes before launch, so you had moments of watching it launch, and Atlantis' last launch was cloudy as well.

@claudevieaul1465 Жыл бұрын

I've watched live footage of the first and the last ever shuttle launches (and a few in between 😉) and it has always been a great thrill to watch these amazing machines take flight...

@scottlyttle5586 Жыл бұрын

Watching it in person was amazing. I live about 8 hours away, and made it a bucket list item to catch the last launch of each shuttle.. I achieved it. The camera cannot accurately capture the glowing color of those SRB's as they propel the shuttle to space.

@skylovescars69420 Жыл бұрын

Except maybe the final challenger launch. But we don’t talk about that one…

@brmnplayr 7 ай бұрын

I miss that Times so badly.. was always a Highlight❤

@wxb200 8 ай бұрын

The Space Shuttle was a beautiful piece of Engineering. This last video really captured its glory.

@alexshank1414 Жыл бұрын

Look at the articulation of the Shuttle’s thrusters! That’s incredible!!!

@attilalako9491 Жыл бұрын

what is a truster ? this is nothing but CGI for your te lie vision all lies and bull shit

@gelatinous6915 Жыл бұрын

They had one of the highest gimbal ranges out of any engine. This was needed to prevent the pitching effect of offset thrust (because the center of mass was at the tank, not the orbiter, the engines would spread and pitch inward heavily to control the Shuttle's pitch.)

@ATMAtim 4 жыл бұрын

Was there and we can see ourselves to the left of the clock. It was a good day but too cloudy to really enjoy the full view of a great machine taking off.

@moonscar119 Жыл бұрын

Something I never hear anyone mention, do you get to hear the 2 sonic booms as it takes off? On landing I had some co-workers in Tampa mention how the shuttle landing would scare the crap out of them because the shuttles sonic booms would be close by

@ilRosewood Жыл бұрын

Disco's launch was clear - the last two didn't have great weather.

@jayantwon5816 Жыл бұрын

I was stationed at Patrick AFB and was working at the Cape when Discovery launched. I lucky enough to watch the last 10 shuttle launches 😌

@jetwoman1954 11 ай бұрын

Saw her last two launches...amazing, wonderful!

@robhuiting1041 4 жыл бұрын

I can't even imagine the amount of power flowing through the people's body stading nearby

@ilRosewood Жыл бұрын

It was epic

@brunovavretchek92 2 ай бұрын

“Main engine start.” Makes me cry

@zimpon Жыл бұрын

The most beautiful machine ever created 😍

@twincitiesdashcam9119 3 ай бұрын

Saw this beauty at the Air and Space Museum last week.

@imaspecofdust3913 4 ай бұрын

I think I remember this launch. I was in 2nd grade at the time and the teacher took as all outside to go watch it launch. It was quite chaotic because the whole school was standing outside in the field and we were all looking up towards the sky. Once it was out of view every kid rushed back to class to continue to watch it on the TV. I miss those days

@cyberneticinterfacemodular3996 Жыл бұрын

Still looks great today flight performance fantastic.I have close friends who work in NASA.

@davecrupel2817 6 ай бұрын

This audio is the most realistic audio I've ever heard. This is pretty much exactly what they sound like in person. Roaring crackling power, which gradually fades into deeper, less detailed extremely low pitches booming. Which gets quieter and quieter as the rocket both gets further from you, and when it breaks the sound barrier, you pretty much stop hearing it entirely. Though you can likely see it well after that point.

@SuperBobby1967 Ай бұрын

It is always amazing to see so much power concentrated into two boosters that propel 100s of tons up in space in a few minutes.

@d1want34 10 ай бұрын

a beautiful piece of engineering, the design and shape are just perfect

@TurkVladimir Жыл бұрын

Thanks Great Video For Me Salute to You Sir

@bigwoodtree 19 күн бұрын

¡Qué emocionante presenciar el último lanzamiento del Discovery! Este video capturó perfectamente la grandeza y el asombro de la exploración espacial. ¡Gracias por compartir este momento histórico con nosotros!

@harryandruschak2843 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this upload :)

@Lord_Squidy Ай бұрын

The amount of power from that is amazing

@Kal_El1994 Жыл бұрын

3:42 - love how you can see the boosters and the whole ship flex and contort with the force of the engines firing up.

@kotcreator Жыл бұрын

привет ты что-то опоздал, видео вышло 11 лет назад 😀

@garrygreen3210 3 жыл бұрын

Simply outstanding.

@johndavid5618 10 ай бұрын

Awesome. ❤️ 💪

@arunabhadlikar8880 10 ай бұрын

Amazing shuttle launch 👏 😊😊😊❤❤❤

@10-den-see Жыл бұрын

Speechless

@chrissanford2466 2 жыл бұрын

I was there the day they piggybacked discovery on a cargo plane from the Kennedy space center to Houston to be put into the Smithsonian. I watched the takeoff at Kennedy space center, I was about 11, and I’ll forget what I ate for breakfast for the rest of my life before I’ll forget that day. Really awesome…

@johnbutler1279 6 ай бұрын

Everything I am in town I go see this badass piece of machinery.

@Crummieboi56 2 жыл бұрын

My uncle helped with the final launch of discovery, oh the tales he’s told us of nasa, both a mess and so organized!

@EstorilEm Жыл бұрын

The exhaust plume and shock diamonds of those RS-25's is absolutely amazing... still my favorite rocket engine ever created. Even today, some half a century later, the entire concept seems almost impossible. I miss the days when NASA proved to the entire world that anything was possible with the right minds (and enough money lol.) It will probably hold the record as the most complex machine mankind has ever created for quite some time.

@vibratingstring Жыл бұрын

Now the next generation of rocketeers have successfully made reusable self landing boosters. I'd say that's way cooler than reusable splashdown solid rocket boosters and a 100 ton space truck

@gogamarra 9 ай бұрын

Shuttle's RS-25 engines were not a totally new concept/design. They were based on the Apollo Saturn V upper stage engines, the J-1 from Rocketdyne with modifications for shuttle operations. The Solid Rockets were based on the Voyager and Viking spacecraft Solid Rockets Motors that were recycled from the 1960s Gemini B/MOL program. NASA as it should tends to build from what they know to reduce costs as they should. The only exception was the shuttle body itself. It was totally scrapped to go back to Apollo staged core concepts for deep space exploration as the space EXPLOITation promise during the shuttle years ended up being a nothing-burger because they couldn't get the reusability costs down and flight frequency up to the promised levels.

@markequinox Жыл бұрын

Incredible the difference in the quality of footage compared to the launches from the 1980s.

@colty7764 Жыл бұрын

they used the old analog TV cameras back then. it wasn't until the early 2000s that the High def widescreen cameras began to be used.

@LordDeBahs 6 ай бұрын

can you show us shutle at 60miles altitude from ground ? why you cut video ?

@a_god8269 Жыл бұрын

It's so cool how as soon as those engines are ignited you can just see the shuttle trying to go... Anyone know how they produce those sparks?

@BlackringIII Жыл бұрын

I think it was burning magnesium?

@attilalako9491 Жыл бұрын

its called CGI on your TE LIE VISION NASA means to decieve in hebrew all lies

@alanjm1234 Жыл бұрын

They're like a small solid fuel rocket or a firework. They're intended to burn off any hydrogen spills and prevent them pooling under the shuttle and possibly exploding.

@raptorwhite6468 Жыл бұрын

@@attilalako9491 Luckily for us, science keeps progressing no matter what idiots like you say.

@kitcanyon658 Жыл бұрын

@@attilalako9491 Thanks for confirming that you don't speak or head Hebrew. LOL. Another hard fail, bro. Not a good look.

@blackholeentry3489 20 күн бұрын

When they announced this to be the Discovery's final mission, they had NO idea of how right they would be.

@chuckg6039 3 ай бұрын

Never gets old

@superking18_973 11 ай бұрын

10K th like!! 😌👍🏻

@marksman875437 10 ай бұрын

Challenger was my favourite growing up

@user-vv4rz5yz1i Жыл бұрын

I love you

@PabloDA82 7 ай бұрын

Discovery and Atlantis were my favorite 💪🇺🇸

@davidodonovan4982 4 ай бұрын

They were sister shuttles.

@stevebigansky9372 Жыл бұрын

A friend of mine used to work for JPL back in the Shuttle days and was in charge of rebuilding the engine's fuel pumps in between launches - he explained to me at liftoff that each of the 3 engines burns around 300 gallons of fuel in one second - so that's 900 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen being consumed in ONE SECOND- UNBELIEVABLE

@karankawa1703 2 ай бұрын

I cry everytime I watch one of these, very sure if id had the chance to see it live id of waled 😅

@henriquedematos 12 жыл бұрын

Remember, this isn't for America, this is for humanity.

@interstellarsnow Жыл бұрын

For all mankind.

@thecyanadon Жыл бұрын

@@phillipbanes5484 Delivering satellites from other countries.

@thecyanadon Жыл бұрын

@@phillipbanes5484 It is not for America only then.

@Baguette1424 Жыл бұрын

@@interstellarsnow not just mankind, humankind

@interstellarsnow Жыл бұрын

@@Baguette1424 that’s basically the same thing

@andrewschannel4259 4 жыл бұрын

I remember seeing this video at the air and space museum!

@AmazingJeeves Жыл бұрын

Is there a version of this without the always-on subtitles?

@drfloxy2779 4 ай бұрын

2024 still jaw dropping you had to be there

@WingZeroType 5 ай бұрын

love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it

@davidgriffiths7696 6 ай бұрын

Lighting the candles one last time.

@shivambhadauriya 9 ай бұрын

"Go for throttle up"- chills

@codymoe4986 8 ай бұрын

Need to borrow a sweater?

@AA-im7ki Жыл бұрын

Discovery is the GOAT

@thunderr1238 Жыл бұрын

I can't even begin to imagine what the austronauts inside the space shuttle are experiencing the moments before and after lift off... It's truly one of a kind feeling that 99.9% of the people will never experience... The mixed emotions, the excitement, the fear... Jesus!!!

@gelatinous6915 Жыл бұрын

There's an incredible book of an astronaut that has an entire chapter dedicated to describing the feeling of launching. It goes into detail about how awe inspiring it is to gaze up at a skyscraper-sized beast, lit up under spotlights and venting clouds of gasses, and thinking about the incredible and terrifying notion of riding that beast.

@lw5495 6 ай бұрын

I was wondering if flat earthers ever go to witness such events with a pair of binoculars

@kelvinmendes2858 Жыл бұрын

THE RAW POWER!!!!!!

@gamed2196 Жыл бұрын

The launch is out of this world!

@rayo6804 9 ай бұрын

Saturn V was my favourite.

@LostConcept 2 жыл бұрын

Love this old footage

@scienceexpoworld9258 Жыл бұрын

What is speed shuttle shows here

@bombtrain3908 20 күн бұрын

4:44 you can see the shockwave super clear!

@vagabond142 3 ай бұрын

It still amazes me that one of the most complex machines man has ever built had its launch timing figured out buy people in the 1970s when a computer was the size of decent room and the physics of the timing for the SRBs was done with pencil, paper, and slide rules. They calculated out the thrust every millisecond of the main engines firing as the shuttle rocked forward, and went it JUST stops rocking back, they fired the SRBs. The math, the minds, the complexity of it all still boggles.

@cmx001 Ай бұрын

Fantástico!

@elykeom1 11 ай бұрын

Made me tear up alittle. Proud to be a human and American sometimes

@johnchao1824 6 ай бұрын

My favorite space shuttle was Dicovery

@davidcraze9761 3 ай бұрын

a pleasure to fly

@MostafaMansoori Ай бұрын

Roll Program Houston, meaning the shuttle rotates from a 90 degree position to a 78 degree position heading to space.

@Vector_Ze 3 ай бұрын

This was the second, and last, Shuttle launch I watched from the vicinity. Even though it was a fantastic sight, shuttle launches can't compare to the three Apollo launches I witnessed from the vicinity. The fleet was was asked to fill a need it wasn't designed for, and did so for far longer than it should have. It wasn't a premature retirement that left us grounded, it was the shortsightedness of politicians.

@jameswhatson6397 6 ай бұрын

Wow!

@LindaMerchant-bq2hp 9 ай бұрын

Endeavor my favorite orbitor

@taylorhornung3942 3 ай бұрын

Good luck crew

@TechnicalDKC 10 ай бұрын

Salute the earth camera

@jaidengamingvlogs4138 11 ай бұрын

I will miss discovery cuz my grandma saw the Hubble launch

@LindaMerchant-bq2hp 9 ай бұрын

Liftoff and reentry always most dangerous times of the mission

@TucsonDude Жыл бұрын

Ah man...you muted the intial blast of the three shuttle nozzles. :(

@elisemuhammad3624 Ай бұрын

Me too!!

@DavidWilliams-el4zt 11 ай бұрын

Can Discovery Fly Again.. Using Parts From the Other 2 Shuttles : Atlantis and Endeavour

@user-gq5xc6ru2q 6 ай бұрын

The view perfectly from the view fixed

@user-gq5xc6ru2q 6 ай бұрын

With wich country as big continent as has been measured by walking or driving in traffic jamed?

@RobertKelly-it8wm 4 күн бұрын

I don't think they should have ever retired the shuttle as it was a great space truck. I know a crew where killed in it but You don't give up and retire a good craft.You keep it flying I say the honour the astronauts who passed away, Keep the SPIRIT of the thing going !!! Anyway that's my 2 cent$ worth !!.

@tanjiro20247 Жыл бұрын

I remember this launch the final mission of the space shuttle program. I watched it on live television on NASA channel for a good launch it was

@martaf82 Ай бұрын

No Atlantis was the last ever space shuttle this was its last mission cuz it could only be used for a matter of time

@OCWatchCatMEOW Жыл бұрын

I WAS THERE!!!!!! I WAS THERE WHEN SHE RETURNED BACK TO EARTH, TOO!!!

@Saa42808 Жыл бұрын

My favorite part is when shuttle engines gimbal through before igniting like someone is adjusting his neck. Hey man remember these are rocket engines not a toy.